Redhawks look sharp in final men's basketball exhibition

First-year Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt is not about to declare his rebuilding team a prime contender in the Ohio Valley Conference.

But Nutt felt good about the way the Redhawks improved in most areas during Tuesday's 81-59 rout of visiting Ouachita Baptist in their final exhibition game.

"We took a good step tonight," Nutt said. "We're nowhere near where we want to be, but I wanted to take a step forward and I thought we did that."

After struggling past NAIA Harris-Stowe 75-67 in last week's exhibition opener, Southeast dominated the Division II Tigers in just about every phase.

"Our energy was up, we were ready to play, we came out focused," returning junior forward Jajuan Maxwell said.

Southeast Missouri State's LaQuentin Miles takes a shot between Ouachita Baptist defenders Miles Monroe, left, and Austin Mitchell during the first half Tuesday at the Show Me Center.FRED LYNCHflynch@semissourian.com

Junior forward Cameron Butler, who played his first two seasons at Division II Southern Arkansas, said the difference in the two performances was notable.

"It felt real good," Butler said. "Rebounding, executing, being patient. The first game we rushed. I think we were nervous.

"Tonight we played as a unit. We played hard and we had a lot of energy."

After shooting just 37.1 percent from the field against Harris-Stowe while settling for a lot of outside shots, Nutt wanted to focus on improving the Redhawks' inside game.

Southeast blistered the nets at a 56.4-percent clip Tuesday, thanks largely to 30 points in the paint.

"We have to have some inside presence," Nutt said. "Our emphasis the last three days [in practice] was to get the ball inside. I thought we did a good job."

The Redhawks also pounded the boards hard, posting a 47-23 rebounding advantage and a 26-6 edge in second-chance points.

Defensively, Southeast limited OBU's Princeton-style attack to 33.9-percent shooting, including 7 of 26 from 3-point range (26.9 percent).

"I thought we defended better," Nutt said. "That's not an easy offense to defend."

Freshman guard Derek Thompson, despite not being 100 percent due to a sore groin, once again stole the show offensively for Southeast, scoring 21 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

Thompson poured in 18 first-half points, including 11 in the final 3 minutes, 11 seconds of the period as Southeast led 43-29 at the break.

Thompson hit 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 5 3-pointers. That came after he also led Southeast against Harris-Stowe with 17 points off the bench, thanks primarily to 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.

"Derek was phenomenal," Nutt said. "He hit some very tough shots."

Thompson deflected praise toward his teammates.

"They were encouraging me the whole time, setting good screens, getting me good looks," he said. "I couldn't have done it without them."

Asked if he is surprised that he led Southeast in scoring during both exhibitions, Thompson shrugged.

"I just go out there and play hard, work hard," he said.

Butler scored 12 points and led Southeast in rebounding with eight.

Junior college transfer wing KaJuan Watson, who played just two minutes and did not attempt a shot against Harris-Stowe, had 10 points in nine second-half minutes.

Nutt complimented Watson for his positive attitude in practice despite seeing so little action in the exhibition opener.

"He didn't pout. He came out the next day and worked," Nutt said.

Five other Southeast players scored between six and nine points. Freshman guard Marland Smith led in assists with six and returning senior center Israel Kirk blocked four shots, all in the final period.

"We got a lot of good performances," said Nutt, whose squad led by 28 points in the second half.

Of course, nothing that happened in the two exhibitions will count on the record or in the statistics.

That will change Saturday as Southeast opens the season at Saint Louis University. The Redhawks believe they're ready.

"We're definitely excited," Maxwell said. "We know we have to get a lot better, but this is a good confidence boost."

Noteworthy

* The weeklong early signing period begins today and Southeast reportedly is hopeful of receiving a letter of intent from 6-foot-9 power forward Waylon Jones, a sophomore at Albany Tech (Ga.) Community College.